User Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by jgarvis:

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5/5 rDev +38.1%look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

There may be no such thing as a perfect beer, but this one comes perhaps as close as is humanly possible. The rich, grainy malt base holds its own compared with traditional brews of Europe. The hopping at 34 IBUs is plenty firm but, because the hops are noble English varieties — East Kent Goldings and Fuggles — one speaks in this case, not of "balance" or "harmony," but of seamless integration with the malt. Being a revival of a 19th-century St Louis recipe, it would be inapt to judge this beer by the evolving standards of post-1980 APAs, much less IPAs. For the focus isn't on hops as such, it's about a totality that's more than the parts. Beautiful deep amber, lasting frothy head, full flavor in line with the broad heritage of the last half-millennium. Fads come and go; this is a beer of perennial quality. Most highly recommended.

Presentation: 12oz brown bottle. Freshness date clearly scored on the side of the label.

Appearance: Pours an amber coloured beer with orange-red hues. The white head is thick initially and very foamy, creamy and sticky. Excellent head retention throughout the beer's life in the glass.

Smell: Soft hops, a bit fruity with herbal / spice aromas.

Taste: Relatively smooth, however there's a unique hop coarseness to the brew that is leafy initially. Hop flavour is spicy and herbal, with a raw, fresh hop backbone flavour. Bitterness is medium, slightly citrus, although there is an initial bite to awaken the palate. Nice fruity, estery flavour too. Malt sweetness comes around the edges and helps to round this beer off. Body is medium. Finish has some dry grain flavours and a touch of herbal / flowers, but nothing out of balance.

Notes: In my opinion, Boston Ale still stands as one of the best of its kind in America. You simply cannot go wrong with a fresh one. Perfect balance. Perfect drinkability. The perfect fridge beer or fall-back beer, and chances are ... you can always find one.

Accoring to Grant Wood @ Boston Beer Co., Boston Ale is more like an English Pale Ale, "I suppose it is more like an English Pale Ale, more Bass-like. We actually call it a "Stock Ale". It has been krausened and stored on dry hops for 2 weeks."

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From Sam Adams:
Samuel Adams Boston Ale was the second beer on the Samuel Adams roster, a robust and spicy ale brewed in 1988 to celebrate the opening of the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston. The recipe for Boston Ale is from the Koch family archives. Jim's grandfather kept careful brewer's notes which were stored in the family's Cincinnati attic.

Stock ale is one of the few classic beer styles to have originated in the United States, and the style has a strong New England heritage. Stock ales were brewed and fermented in the traditional ale manner and then aged in cool rooms called "stock cellars." The special ales were called "stock" ales because of this extra aging, which gave them a characteristic body and smoothness.

Pours out a toffee color into my Samuel Adams glass, with a thick, buzzy popcorn colored head of 3 fingers. Lace is left pretty generously on the sides. Opacity is 20%.

Smells like toffee, caramel malts, baked nuts, more baked caramel malt, a touch of berry, and just a hint of orange peel.

First taste is of fresh trash, but then it washes back and covers everything in a beautiful caramel malt sweetness. A touch of hop makes an effort to balance this out a bit, but it is by far more malty than hoppy. Aftertaste is of citrus rinds breathing piney air, with fresh bread. There's a certain cheapness about it, but it's also pretty much begging for more drinks.

It feels pretty clunky and syrupy, with only a mild carbonation making an apperance. It ends rough and textured, sappy even, but there's a crispness on the back end that helps it a bit.

I may like Boston Ale better than Boston Lager (although there's no direct correlation or competition of the two besides namesake), but I'd have to try another before I was totally sold on the notion. If you haven't yet, give this one a shot, you may like it.

I had no idea that Boston Beer Company was behind this one,have had 3 or 4 times at the Uno here in Greensboro.Poured into frozen mug wich I didnt care for much,not much head but a little lace,smelles sweet and a little grainy.Taste is malty and a little fruity but nothing spectacular.It is better than almost everything on tap there (except Sammy's)so its not to bad I guess.

Thanks to Josh for the bottle, saving me from having to buy this beer myself. It's a ruddy copper color with some red-ish hues that spike out at the edges. Light clarity throughout with a mild chill haze that clears up over time. The foamy, off-white head is mighty quick to recede to the edges of the glass where it remains as a dusty collar for quite a while.

Spaghetti and meatballs. Seriously, you can stop reading right there, just save yourself the time because I don't know what the hell my nose it up to. But, yeah, I'm getting a total spaghetti sauce vibe from the aroma, and I don't know why, because it seems that I'm the only one with this notion.

Mild bready malt... Sure. Faint leafy hops... I guess. The incessant incision of a mildly tomato-ish and basil-like spice keeps distracting my nose (and eventually my brain) long enough to prevent me from pulling out any other beer related aromas that might actually be there. Does it smell like Mama Mia's Pizza Beer? No. But goddamnit, this stuff is saucy.

In hopes that a sip of this brew would wash away the crazy notions my nose was having, I take a few gulps, only to find that there's still a bit of that spaghetti sauce spice on my palate now. What the hell! Granted, it's not quite a body slam like the aroma, but it's still there. At least maybe it's settled enough to allow me to actually review this as a beer now.

Bright hops, toasty malt, and a slightly sweet, yeast filled finish with a crisp aftertaste that's something you'd normally get from a lager. That's about all I can say for this one, other than the whole pizza sauce debacle. Thin bodied, but I think that was expected. High carbonation, aiding in the crispness and dry nature of the finish.

So I don't know what spices, hops, or malts are used for this beer, by my brains seems to translate the marriage of them into a sensory reminder of Ragu. It wasn't as cumbersome or off-putting as something like Mama Mia's Pizza Beer; it was actually drinkable and not *that* bad. But it's still something I'll be leaving on the shelf next time.

A: Crystal clear coppery amber in color; Good off-white colored head of about 3/4" reducing slowly into an uneven layer of bubbles. Good lacing. It just looks pretty!

S: Faint aromas of moderate malts and light hops.

T&M: Relatively light weight on the tongue with a fuller than expected taste. The malt comes on strong in flavor without being sweet. The balance with the malt and hops is very good and quite nice, with a result of a brew with a slightly dry edge. The carbonation in this was fine but abundant and contributes quite a bit to the overall mouthfeel. The finish is mostly clean with just a bit of maltiness on the linger.

D: A cut above average, this is an enjoyable brew to drink. It's similar in so many ways to the Boston Lager but there is a nice edginess to the flavor that I like in a brew. Recommended.

Pours a nice clear golden orange with a bubbly one inch head...nice and inviting. Smell has some hops in it along with citrusy grainy tones. A nice pale ale flavor comes through with some subdued hops flavor and a nice malt. Slight bitterness on the back of the palate along with citrus notes. Overall, it's a nice APA that's not to hard on the wallet and easy to drink. One of the better Sam brews that I've tried.

Not sure why the (relatively) low reviews for this one. Kind of light colored for an amber ale, but still looks appetizing. There are fruity notes in both the scent and taste. Maybe banana? That's what it seems like to me. Pretty light drinking. I suppose this beer is geared to appeal toward the macro lager crowd without offending them. Its still a good Samuel Adams beer, though. I had a 20oz glass for $5.19, and I'm sure I could have had another. Goes down smooth and tasty. If you find regular Samuel Adams too 'powerful,' then this beer might be better suited for you.

I consider this an everyday drinkable beer. Not great, but certainly far above anything AB has to offer. It was a clear orange color with a pretty thick white head. Not much aroma, kind of outdoorsy. A nice hops presence, a little bread. A good beer to drink a few of.

Boston ale is an excellent part of the sam adams line. it has a good taste, it isnt bitter, smeels and appears nice also. not overwhelming flavor but not watered down. tastes the way an ale should, has to be one of my all time favortie from sam adams.

Always a good choice. The Boston Ale has a golden amber color with good clarity and carbonation. It forms a thick off white head that leaves nice lacing on the glass. Its aroma is malty sweet with a hint of honey and floral hops. On the tongue the malts are bready and lightly toasty. The hops are light and have a nice piney and citrus bitterness that fades slowly into the finish. I really like the balance on this ale and I fined it to be very drinkable and refreshing. Cheers!

Served in a 12oz frozen mug, pale amber hue shows a good clarity and lacing is thin but retains well. Faint aroma of caramel and grain, little hop in the nose &#8230; clean to say the least.

Solid crisp carbonation, light bodied and very refreshing. A bit watery in the malt department showing some grain and sweetness, touch of hop oil and bitterness easily keep things balanced. Clean after taste with some grain in the back.

One of the few beers that has any kind of real beer flavour at most Pizzeria Uno establishments. Very easy to drink &#8230; a no brainer beer.